Legal Legend of Color: Cindy Marie Patton
Cindy Marie Patton earned a BA in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked for ten years in private industry. Feeling the need to do more for her community, she decided to go to law school and obtained a law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. While in law school, she was a member of the Jessup International Moot Court and the Order of Barristers.
After graduation, Patton became a staff attorney for Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, in Charlotte where she had interned after her first year of law school. While an intern, she saw the impact that the Legal Services attorneys made in people’s lives and decided that providing legal services to individuals who could not afford attorneys was the career path for her. Patton became an active member of the North Carolina State Bar and established a remarkable legal career advocating for North Carolina residents’ rights and access to justice since graduating in 1992. While at Legal Services she became the Team Leader for the family law unit and later was promoted to Managing Attorney. In 2002, she left Legal Services of Southern Piedmont and joined the newly created Legal Aid of North Carolina where she continued her role as the Managing Attorney at the Charlotte office. For more than 30 years, she represented low-income residents in Mecklenburg County, NC. As a Legal Aid attorney, Patton provided legal services in areas including landlord/tenant, domestic violence, unemployment benefits, bankruptcy, and consumer law.
Patton broke the ceiling by becoming the first female and the first African American Managing Attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Charlotte Office. Under her leadership as Managing Attorney, staff grew exponentially and expanded legal services. Under Cindy’s direction, the Charlotte Office’s Housing Unit which defends evictions, advocates for tenants’ rights, and prevents homelessness grew from a staff of five, which assisted approximately three hundred clients a year, to a staff of nineteen which now assists about 1,700 clients a year. The Office acquired a new building in East Charlotte to house its expanded staff and to continue advocating for equal justice. Patton’s vision and tireless efforts to build relationships with local government, private businesses, the local bar, and the community at large played a pivotal role in the Charlotte Office’s expansion.
In addition to positively impacting the residents of Mecklenburg County, Patton had a tremendous impact on her staff. After the Office expansion, she managed and inspired over thirty attorneys, paralegals, and support staff who provide civil legal services to Mecklenburg County’s low-income population. Charlotte Office staff report that she exuded an aura of calm wisdom and worked hard to create a positive and supportive environment in the Office as staff engaged in extremely demanding work. The attorneys in her Office stated that Patton trusted and respected her staff, helped them gain the necessary tools to succeed, and invested in their professional development. Some staff whom Patton previously supervised have benefited from her guidance as they pursued their career paths and became judges, legal directors of domestic violence organizations, and active members of the legal community.
Patton is a phenomenal leader imbuing attorneys, paralegals, students, and volunteers with a sense of social justice and empathy for those who face adversity. Her accomplishments demonstrate excellence and exemplary service to a multitude of Mecklenburg County residents. Cindy’s example paved the way for other legal advocates to follow in her inspirational footsteps.